Cuttack, Nov 08: VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia yesterday said that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should go for a central legislation to pave the way for construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya "even at the cost of his chair". It was upto the Prime Minister and central government to enact the legislation, he told reporters here.

Stating that the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani had been talking about Pak-sponsored terrorism in India, he said the country should take stern steps against the neighbour.


Togadia was on his way to Sambalpur to launch VHP's western Orissa unit there. He said, "we are aiming to make the VHP in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra as strong as it is in Gujarat by June 2004".


The VHP leader also visited the SCR Medical College hospital here to meet a "Ram bhakt", who, while returning from Ayodhya in train, was allegedly attacked by some people with bombs in Chhatisgarh recently. He inquired about the treatment being given to him.

Earlier, speaking to newsmen at the Bhubaneswar airport on his arrival, Togadia said that the launching of the separate unit of VHP in western Orissa had nothing to do with the demand for creation of a separate Koshal state in the region.

"We neither support nor oppose the demand," Togadia said.

Bureau Report